California's Great America

This article is about the Santa Clara, California park originally known as Marriott's Great America. For the Illinois park that was once known by this same name, see Six Flags Great America.
California's Great America



Slogan Thrills Connect
Location Santa Clara, California, United States
Coordinates 37°23′45.4″N 121°58′20.1″W / 37.395944°N 121.972250°W / 37.395944; -121.972250Coordinates: 37°23′45.4″N 121°58′20.1″W / 37.395944°N 121.972250°W / 37.395944; -121.972250
Owner Cedar Fair Entertainment Company
General Manager Raul Rehnborg
Opened May 20, 1976 (1976-05-20)
Previous names Marriott's Great America 1976–1985
Great America 1985–1993 and 2007-2008
Paramount's Great America 1993–2006
Operating season Late March - December
Area 100 acres (40 ha)
Rides
Total 58
Roller coasters 8
Water rides 3
Website Official website

California's Great America is a 100-acre (40 ha) amusement park located in Santa Clara, California. Owned and operated by Cedar Fair, it originally opened as Marriott's Great America in 1976 as one of two parks built and operated by the Marriott Corporation. The park has appeared in 1994 films Beverly Hills Cop III and Getting Even with Dad and features over 40 rides and attractions. One of its most notable attractions, Gold Striker, has been featured as a top-ranked wooden roller coaster in Amusement Today's annual Golden Ticket Awards publication.

History

Marriott & KECO Era (1976–1992)

Marriott's Great America, built by hotel and restaurant operator Marriott Corporation, opened to the public on May 20, 1976. Less than two weeks later on May 29, the company opened a second Marriott's Great America – later known as Six Flags Great America – north of Chicago in Gurnee, Illinois.[1] A third park was initially planned for the Baltimore–Washington Metropolitan Area, but the idea was later abandoned after several failed attempts to sway local opposition.[2]

View of California's Great America from above

The park, though profitable, was still an earnings disappointment for Marriott, leading the company in 1983 to explore options to sell. An interested party, Caz Development Co., appraised the land value at US$800,000 to $1 million per acre. Marriott also involved the city of Santa Clara in negotiations, which was already leasing 55 acres (22 ha) of parking space for the amusement park. Fearing development of the land by Caz Development would aggravate already congested roadways, the city council approved a $101 million purchasing agreement on January 31, 1984, by a 4–3 vote that also had to be approved by city residents. The citywide vote passed, approving the sale by a margin of 3 to 1. Caz Development then sued the city and Marriott in the Superior Court of Santa Clara County to block the transaction. The court nullified the sale, forcing the city to attempt to salvage the deal through negotiations with the other parties. Unable to broker a timely agreement, the city council voted 6–1 to scuttle the sale on February 5, 1985, though the city was still interested in owning the park. After Marriott refunded a $20 million down payment back to the city, negotiations were restarted. All parties were able to agree on a compromise, which was signed in marathon sessions taking place in early June 1985. The city acquired the park for $93.5 million from Marriott, which retained 20 acres (8.1 ha) from the sale for development. Caz Development settled and was allowed to build a hotel and office near the park, which the city renamed Great America.

Kings Entertainment Company, who owned and operated other amusement parks, was hired in 1985 to manage Great America for the city.[3] In 1989, the city decided to return the park to the private sector and sold it to Kings Entertainment.[4] In the agreement, the city would earn 5% of all revenue that exceeds $56 million.

Paramount Parks Era (1992–2006)

Logo used from 2003 until its sale to Cedar Fair.

Three years later Paramount Communications (formerly Gulf+Western), the owners of Paramount Pictures, sought to join other entertainment companies as a theme park owner. The company acquired Kings Entertainment, owner of three parks including Great America, and one other park for $400 million and created Paramount Parks. Viacom, the parent of MTV Networks (including Nickelodeon), then bought Paramount in 1994, allowing Nickelodeon theming and merchandise into the park as well. During the Paramount era, attractions from the Action FX Theatre, Nickelodeon Splat City (later Nickelodeon Central), Drop Zone Stunt Tower, Invertigo, and many more modern thrill ride attractions were added in. Because the park is landlocked in the center of Silicon Valley, several rides including the classic train ride and the Sky Whirl, a Marriott's Great America signature attraction, were removed to make way for newer attractions.

In its last years as a Paramount Park, Great America was co-owned with several broadcasting stations in the Bay Area, including KPIX-TV and KBCW.

Cedar Fair Entertainment Company (2006–present)

Logo used in 2006. This logo is still seen on the litter bins in and around California's Great America.

After Viacom and CBS Corporation split, Paramount Parks became part of CBS. The merger did not last long, as CBS announced plans to sell the theme park division.

Cedar Fair Entertainment Co. announced in May 2006 that they are acquiring the amusement park division from CBS.[5] The transaction includes licensing agreements with Nickelodeon and Paramount, providing the park the option to retain its Nickelodeon and Paramount theming for several years.[6]

On October 25, 2007, Cedar Fair renamed the park California's Great America. For the 2008 season, the park saw the addition of a Huss Rides top spin ride called FireFall, a new ice show in the "Great America Theatre" (formerly The Paramount Theatre), and the addition of the Halloween Haunt event to the park.[7]

In the summer of 2009, Cedar Fair announced that all the Nickelodeon themed areas would be replaced with Peanuts themed areas. In 2010, the newly rethemed Planet Snoopy opened in the park.

On January 27, 2011, the park announced Invertigo would be removed and relocated to Dorney Park, another Cedar Fair property.[8]

On September 19, 2011, Cedar Fair confirmed reports that California's Great America would be sold to JMA Ventures, LLC for $70 million in cash. The sale required approval by the City of Santa Clara, and its city council was scheduled to vote on the matter on December 6, 2011. Cedar Fair, which purchased the park in 2006, expected to use the cash proceeds from the sale to reduce its senior secured debt.[9] However, on December 6, 2011, JMA Ventures cancelled its plans to purchase the amusement park.[10] In the same announcement, Cedar Fair also verified that a long-term agreement was reached with the San Francisco 49ers regarding parking and construction of a new stadium adjacent to Great America.[11][12]

Areas and attractions

Intensity rating[13] (out of 5)
  1 (low)   2 (mild)   3 (moderate)   4 (high)   5 (aggressive)

Note: Number ratings assigned per California's Great America, while the colors are unique to Wikipedia. For more details, see the California's Great America "Guest Assistance Guide" (PDF). 

Roller coasters

Gold Striker Roller Coaster at Great America
Name Location Manufacturer Model Name Opened
Demon County Fair Arrow Dynamics Custom Looping Coaster 1976
Flight Deck Orleans Place Bolliger & Mabillard Inverted Coaster - Custom 1993
Gold Striker Celebration Plaza Great Coasters International 2013
Grizzly Action Zone Curtis D. Summers 1986
Lucy's Crabbie Cabbie Planet Snoopy E&F Miler 1999
Psycho Mouse Action Zone Arrow Dynamics Mad Mouse 2001
Vortex (Patriot in 2017) Celebration Plaza B&M Stand-Up Coaster (Floorless in 2017) 1991 (closing September 5, 2016)
Woodstock Express Planet Snoopy Intamin Children's Roller Coaster 1987

Thrill Rides

The Drop Tower
Name Location Manufacturer Model Name Opened
Berserker County Fair Schwarzkopf Bayern Kurve 1976
Celebration Swings Celebration Plaza Zierer Wave Swinger 1976
Centrifuge Action Zone Schwarzkopf GmBH Calypso 1976
Delirium All American Corners Chance Rides Revolution 32 2007
Drop Tower: Scream Zone Action Zone Intamin Giant Drop 1996
FireFall All American Corners HUSS Park Attractions Top Spin 2008
H.M.B. Endeavor All American Corners Intamin Looping Starship 1987
Orbit All American Corners Schwarzkopf Enterprise 1976
Tiki Twirl Action Zone Zamperla Disk'O Coaster 2006

Action Zone

Ride Opened Manufacturer, type Notes Rating[13]
Centrifuge 1976 Schwarzkopf
Calypso
Originally known as Fiddler's Fling. Its Six Flags counterpart retains that name as of today. 3
Drop Tower: Scream Zone 1996 Intamin
Giant Drop
227 foot tall tower where riders descend at speeds up to 62 mph (100 km/h) while free falling in cars that hold up to four passengers. Originally known as Drop Zone: Stunt Tower from 1996–2007. 4
Eagle's Flight 1976 Von Roll
Gondola lift
Eagle's Flight is the name for the Action Zone gondola station 2
The Grizzly 1986 Wooden roller coaster Modeled after the original Coney Island Wildcat. 4
Psycho Mouse 2001 Arrow Dynamics
Wild Mouse roller coaster
The last Mad Mouse to be produced by Arrow Dynamics. 4
Thunder Raceway 2001 Go-kart track Pay-per ride attraction. 4
Tiki Twirl 2006 Zamperla
Disk'O
Originally known as Survivor: The Ride! from 2006–2011. 4
Delirium (a pendulum ride)

All American Corners

Ride Opened Manufacturer, type Notes Rating[13]
Mass Effect: New Earth May 18, 2016 4-D Theater Originally 'Action Theater' with several shows. 3
Delirium 2002 Chance Rides
Revolution 32
Designed by KMG of the Netherlands. 5
FireFall 2008 HUSS Park Attractions
Top Spin
The ride was relocated from Geauga Lake where it was known as Texas Twister from 1993–2007. 5
Flying Eagles 2002 Larson International
Flying Scooters
Cars can reach an overall height of 28 feet during ride operation. 3
H.M.B. Endeavor 1987 Intamin
Looping Starship
Originally the Revolution. 4
Loggers Run 1976 Arrow Dynamics log flume Features a 60-foot drop. 4
Orbit 1976 Schwarzkopf
Enterprise
Originally the Orleans Orbit. 4
Rip Roaring Rapids 1988 Intamin river rafting ride Riders careen through the concrete channels in 6-person rafts while facing rapids, whirlpools, and waterfalls. 5

Celebration Plaza

Ride Opened Manufacturer, type Notes Rating[13]
Carousel Columbia 1976 Chance Rides
Double Decker Carousel
A double-Decker carousel that has over 100 horses and stands an overall height of 100 feet tall. 1
Celebration Swings 2001 Zierer Wave swinger Originally operated at Carowinds as Whirling Dervish from 1979–2000. 3
Gold Striker 2013 Great Coasters International
Wooden roller coaster
Featured as a top 50 wooden roller coaster in Amusement Today's Golden Ticket Awards[14] 4
Star Tower 1979 Intamin Gyro Tower Passengers ride in a rotating cabin where it reaches a height of 200 feet tall while taking in the surrounding views. 2
Patriot 2017 B&M
Floorless coaster
A floorless coaster where passengers descend down a 91-foot drop at speeds up to 40 mph (64 km/h) while navigating through one loop and a corkscrew along the 1,920 foot track. Under construction; Opening in 2017 5
Whitewater Falls 1990 Intamin Spillwater A shoot-the-chutes water ride where 20 passengers sit in a large boat that eventually descends down a 45-foot drop creating a 20 foot tall wave. 4
Xtreme Skyflyer 1997 Skycoaster Pay-per-ride attraction. 5

County Fair

Ride Opened Manufacturer, Type Notes Rating[13]
Barney Oldfield Speedway 1976 Arrow Dynamics Passengers ride in old-styled cars on a track around the Grizzly. 3
Berserker 1976 Schwarzkopf Bayern Kurve Originally known as Yukon Yahoo. 3
Demon 1976 Arrow Dynamics Originally opened as "Turn of the Century" in 1976. Reconfigured and renamed "Demon" in 1980. 5

Orleans Place

Ride Opened Manufacturer, type Notes Rating[13]
Delta Flyer 1976 Von Roll
Gondola line
Delta Flyer is the name for the Orleans Place station. 2
Flight Deck 1993 Bolliger & Mabillard
Inverted roller coaster
Formerly known as Top Gun. 5
Rue Le Dodge 1976 Soli Bumper Cars A classic bumper car ride. 4

Planet Snoopy

Main article: Planet Snoopy

Planet Snoopy is California's Great America's kids area which opened in 2010.

Ride Opened Type Notes Rating[13]
Character Carousel Carousel 1
Flying Ace 1999 Originally known as KidzAir 2
GR8 SK8 2015 Originally at Knott's Berry Farm as Joe Cool's GR8 SK8. 3
Joe Cool's Dodgem School 1999 Kiddie bumper cars Originally known as Fender Bender 500. 2
Kite-Eating Tree 1999 Originally known as Junior Jump Club. 2
Lucy's Crabbie Cabbie 1999 Kiddie roller coaster Originally known as Taxi Jam. 2
Peanuts 500 2015 Originally operated at Knott's Berry Farm as Charlie Brown's Speedway. 2
PEANUTS Pirates 2003 Breakdance 4 Originally known as SpongeBob's Boat Mobiles. 2
Planet Snoopy Construction Zone 2014 Playground Originally known as KidZ Construction Co. 1
The Pumpkin Patch 2003 Originally known as Wild Thornberry's Treetop Lookout 2
Sally's Love Buggies 2003 Originally known as Dora's Dune Buggies 2
Sally's Swing Set Family Wave Swinger Originally known as Swing Swing Swing 2
Snoopy's Space Buggies 2015 2
Snoopy's Space Race Originally known as Ghost Chasers. 1
Snoopy's Splash Dance 1995 Originally known as Green Slime Zone
Woodstock Express 1987 Steel roller coaster Originally known as Blue Streak 3

Boomerang Bay

Boomerang Bay is California's Great America's water park, opened in 2004. It is included with the price of admission to California's Great America.

Defunct attractions

Past rides and attractions include:

Fast Lane

Fast Lane is California's Great America's virtual queue system. For $45, visitors get a wrist band that enables them to get to the front of the line on eleven rides and two shows without queueing.

Halloween Haunt

Halloween Haunt is a seasonal event at California's Great America. It had a "teaser" maze in 2007, but officially began in 2008 and is patterned after other Cedar Fair HAUNT such as Knott's

SCarowinds HAUNT XL The annual Haunt includes over 500 monsters placed in various haunted mazes and scare zones throughout the park.

Current attractions

For 2016, Halloween Haunt features eight haunted mazes, three scare zones, four shows, and five Skeleton Keys. It gives guests with the Fright Lane pass an extra rooms to go through in which are scattered throughout the park. These rooms are interactive.[16] [17]

Attraction Type Opened Location
Dead & Breakfast Maze 2016 Rue Le Dodge
CornStalkers Maze 2008 Country Fair
Killer Clown Town Scare Zone 2015 Planet Snoopy
Dia de Los Muertos Maze 2013 Celebration Plaza
Lockdown Scare Zone 2015 Orleans Place
Madame Marie's Massacre Manor Maze 2012 Celebration Plaza
Roadkill Roadhouse Maze 2014 Hometown Square
Toy Factory Maze 2009 Action Zone
Evacuate! Scare Zone 2015 County Fair
Wax Museum Chamber of Horrors Maze 2014 All American Corners
Zombie High Maze 2013 Action Zone
Nytewalkers Show 2014 Celebration Plaza
Blood Drums Show 2016 Celebration Plaza
Academy of Villains Show 2014 Showtime Theater in Orleans Place
Sideshow Show 2015 Planet Snoopy

Attraction history

California's Great America's timeline

Water slides viewed from the cable car
The former Invertigo coaster (Removed 2011)
Complete View of the former Invertigo coaster

On film and television

Writer Steven E. de Souza originally wrote the story as more "Die Hard in a theme park". He was told that each of the rides he had designed would cost about $10 million to build and the whole film would cost about $70 million. When box office results for The Distinguished Gentleman came in, Paramount ordered the budget to be cut to $55 million.

Some modifications were made to the Columbia Carousel and Vortex roller coaster. Most of the Sky Whirl stunts were filmed in a studio. In this scene, George Lucas has a small part as the man Axel cuts in front of to get on the ride, also known as 'disappointed man' (this can be seen in the credits). The tunnels that supposedly ran under the park are a myth as well. No tunnels run under the park, as many thought after this was released. Many rides that were seen in the movie including Triple Play and the Sky Whirl have since been removed. Also, the carousel at the back of the park (the Ameri-Go-Round, not the Columbia Carousel) was altered. The Ameri-Go-Round carousel has since been removed and Drop Zone is now in its place. The ride featured in the rescue scene at the park was Triple Wheel (formerly known as Sky Whirl). Since the movie was made, the ride has been demolished and scrapped.

The Alien Attack ride featured in the Wonder World theme park was in fact the Earthquake: The Big One attraction from the Universal Studios Florida theme park in Orlando, Florida. The "aliens" featured in the ride are suited actors (and not animatronic as suggested in the film) which closely resembled the Cylons from the original Battlestar Galactica.

Incidents

References

  1. "Marriott to Sell Park to Bally". NY Times. April 27, 1984. Retrieved January 24, 2013.
  2. Flattau, Edward (August 19, 1977). "Marriott's high-powered approach". The Free Lance-Star. Retrieved January 24, 2013.
  3. "A New Start At Great America". The Modesto Bee. Modesto, CA. June 20, 1985. Retrieved July 10, 2012.
  4. "Firm Acquires Big Theme Park". Merced Sun-Star. Merced, California. June 6, 1989. Retrieved July 10, 2012.
  5. "Press Releases :: Cedar Fair Entertainment Company". Cedarfair.com. Archived from the original on July 28, 2006. Retrieved 2012-06-04.
  6. "EDGAR Filing Documents for 0000811532-06-000054". Sec.gov. 2006-06-06. Retrieved 2012-06-04.
  7. Great America | San Francisco's Themed Amusement Park
  8. http://www.cagreatamerica.com/news/detail.cfm?item_id=1069
  9. "Cedar Fair to sell California's Great America park for $70 million" (PDF). Cedar Fair Entertainment Company. September 19, 2011. Retrieved September 20, 2011.
  10. "JMA cancels $70M California Great America purchase". Business Journal. December 6, 2011. Retrieved December 7, 2011.
  11. Young, Eric (December 6, 2011). "JMA drops plan to buy Great America, but 49ers stadium plans proceed". San Francisco Business Times. Retrieved December 10, 2011.
  12. "Great America to remain with current owners; 49er stadium spat averted". The Examiner. December 6, 2011. Retrieved December 10, 2011.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Ratings assigned per California's Great America, where "1" is the least intense and "5" is the most. See their "Guest Assistance Guide" (PDF). Michigan's Adventure. for more specific details.
  14. "SeaWorld San Diego hosts 2014 Golden Ticket Awards" (PDF). Amusement Today. 18 (6.2). September 2014. Retrieved April 28, 2015.
  15. 1 2 http://www.hq.usace.army.mil/cepa/pubs/jul98/story11.htm
  16. https://www.cagreatamerica.com/things-to-do/halloween-haunt
  17. https://www.facebook.com/cgahaunt
  18. "Great America Announces New Attraction Featuring Mass Effect Videogame Series for 2016". California's Great America. Retrieved September 30, 2015.
  19. Zavoral, Linda (September 29, 2015). "Great America, Electronic Arts creating 'Mass Effects' attraction". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved September 30, 2015.
  20. http://cgaintel.blogspot.com/2014/03/off-season-tour-and-2014-season-details.html#more
  21. "49ers.com | Stadium Groundbreaking Slated for April 19". Blog.49ers.com. Retrieved 2012-06-04.
  22. Kaplan, Tracy (June 13, 2015). "Previous accidents at Great America". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved March 15, 2016.
  23. 1 2 Rosales, Erik (2007-07-12). "abc7news.com: 7/12/07". Abclocal.go.com. Retrieved 2012-06-04.
  24. "– 1998 Accident Reports and News". Rideaccidents.com. Retrieved 2012-06-04.
  25. "Thrill ride lawsuits". Courier-Journal. June 23, 2007. Retrieved November 4, 2011.
  26. "Drop Zone death: no charges, no explanation". RideAccidents.com. November 5, 1999. Retrieved December 4, 2011.
  27. "4-Year-Old Drowns In California's Great America Wave Pool – News Story – KNTV | San Francisco". Nbc11.com. Retrieved 2012-06-04.
  28. Kaplan, Tracy; Nelson, Katie (June 13, 2015). "Great America roller coaster accident injures two people". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved June 14, 2015.

Notes

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